Gas tank cap



March 12, 1957 J. T. D! GIORGIO GAS TANK CAP Filed May 26, 1955 INVENTOR. Jail/V 2? pig/05410 United States Patent GAS TANK CAP John T. Di Giorgio, Albertson, N. Y.

Application May 26, 1955, Serial No. 511,170

1 Claim. (Cl. 220-40) This invention relates to gas tank caps.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a gas tank cap which will enable a person to apply pressure by mouth to the fuel tank of the vehicle to force fuel into the carburetor after the vehicle has run out of fuel or after the fuel in the carburetor has evaporated.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a gas tank cap of the above type which Will permit easier starting of the engine and will effect thereby an economy of the battery.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a gas tank cap of the above type which may be employed as a full time pressure cap on the fuel when the fuel pump linkage has worn, causing pump failure whereby to eliminate the abandonment of the vehicle and the necessity of towing the same to home or service station.

For other objects and a better understanding of the invention, reference may be had to the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the device in operative use on a gas tank;

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view of the cap;

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional View taken along the line 33 of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view shown partly in elevation and partly in section showing the closing of the plastic tubing forming a part of the device.

Referring now more in detail to the drawing, represents the usual fuel tank having the inlet 11 which extends upward through the body 12 of the vehicle, the tank 11 also including the outlet 13 connected to the fuel line.

In the practice of my invention, a cap is provided and includes an inner cap 14 integrally formed around its lower open end with the oppositely disposed prongs or projections 15 which engage the undersurface of the opening 16 provided with lateral extensions 17 in a man- .ner well known to those skilled in the art, whereby to secure the cap 14 in position. A cup-shaped inverted spring 18 is positioned across the top of the cap 14 and terminates at its lower open end in the laterally extending flange 19 to the under surface of which is secured a gasket ring 20. An outer cap 21 is positioned across the spring 18 concentric with the inner cap 14 and having a peripheral wall 22 which encloses and surrounds the gasket in freely spaced relationship thereto. A metal inlet tube 23 extends upwardly within the central opening provided therefor in the inner cap 14, spring 18 and outer cap 21, the inlet pipe 23 terminating at its lower edge in the flange 24. A connecting member is provided and includes the cylindrical portion 25 which extends down- Wardly through the openings in the outer cap 21, spring 18 and inner cap 14, being formed at its upper end with a flange 26 which abuts the upper surface of the outer cap 21. The cylindrical portion 25 at its lower end is provided with the outwardly extending flange 27 which engages the undersurface of the inner cap 1.4 and the upper surface of flange 24 and continues downwardly in the side wall 28 and terminates in the inwardly extend- 2,784,864 iatented Mar. 12, 1957 ing flange 29 which engages the undersurface of flange 24 whereby to secure the pipe 23, outer cap 21, spring 18 and inner cap 14 in the assembled relationship of Fig. 3. A plastic tube 30 is positioned on the upper end of the inlet pipe 23.

r In operative use, when the tank 10 has become empty or the gasoline within the carburetor has evaporated, approximately three pounds of pressure may be applied to the tank 10 and line 13 by blowing downwardly through the plastic tube 30, as shown in Fig. 1. This will enable the owner to apply about three pounds of pressure to the fuel tank to force the fuel into the carburetor after the vehicle has run out of fuel or after the fuel in the carburetor has evaporated. Forcing the fuel into the carburetor will permit easy starting of the engine and save the battery. The device may also be used as a full time pressure cap when the fuel pump linkage has Worn and the pump fails, by plugging the end of the plastic tube 30 with a pencil 31 or the like, after three pounds of pressure have been applied, as previously described. This will enable the vehicle to operate and eliminate the abandoning or towing of the vehicle to the service station or the garage.

While various changes may be made in the detail construction, it shall be understood that such changes shall be within the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claim.

What I claim as new and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States is:

A gas tank cap comprising an inner cap adapted to be secured within the gas tank opening, an inverted cupshaped spring overlying said cap, a gasket secured to the lower open end of said spring, an outer cap overlying said spring concentric with said inner cap and an inlet pipe extending downwardly through said outer cap spring and inner cap, means for securing said pipe, outer cap, spring and inner cap in concentric relationship, and a flexible tube secured to the outside of said pipe whereby to permit pressure to be applied to the fuel tank through said flexible pipe by mouth and to force gasoline into the carburetor, said securing means comprising a cylindrical portion extending downwardly through said outer cap, spring and inner cap and terminating at its upper end with a lateral flange engaging the upper surface of said outer cap, said pipe at its lower end being formed with a laterally extending flange, said cylindrical member being formed with a substantially U-shaped cross sectional flange engaging the undersurface of said inner cap and surrounding said pipe flange on both upper and lower surfaces thereof, said inner cap comprising a top wall, a substantially cylindrical side Wall and a pair of oppositely disposed outwardly extending prongs adapted to engage the undersurface of the gas tank opening, said gasket being normally disposed intermediate said prongs and the top wall of said outer cap, said outer cap comprising a circular top wall of greater diameter than said spring and inner cap, and a depending skirt integrally formed around the periphery thereof enclosing said gasket and spring, the lower edge of said skirt lying in substantially the same plane as the undersurface of said gasket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 309,725 Milligan Dec. 23, 1884 309,788 Krippendorlf et al Dec. 23, 1884 2,462,575 Walker Feb. 22, 1949 2,465,895 March Mar. 29, 1949 2,679,946 Friend June 1, 1954 2,714,898 Reese Aug. 9, 1955 

